How Would You Rate The Edge Specialty Restaurants?

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Now that we have some people who have cruised on the Edge, it would be good to start to get some impressions of the specialty restaurants. Please rate the with 1-5 stars (relative to cruise ship restaurants).

I will start:

Fine Cut Steakhouse: 5 stars

This was my favorite restaurant on the ship. We went twice and had a great experience both times. I had the pan-seared scallops for an appetizer and they were definitely the best scallops I've had on a ship (tender and not over-cooked). My 16 oz bone-in filet mignon was perfectly cooked and delicious (and I'm not one who loves steak). I had the bearnaise sauce and sauteed mushrooms (you can choose sauces and sides). We shared a loaded baked potato that they brought by mistake and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Ultimate Chocolate Sundae and Double Chocolate Brownie were delicious, but a bit much after so much food. Service was relaxed and excellent (our waiters took time to explain and chat) - they had a sommelier who brought us the Red Conundrum, which was a treat. We always enjoy the White Conundrum, but hadn't the Red in a while. Ambiance was better than I thought - we sat further into the restaurant the first time and it was lively, but not too loud. The Martini Bar was in full swing. The second time, we were seated at the rail overlooking the Grand Plaza and I worried it would be noisy. Instead, the bar was quiet until 10:15 and then it was like a light switch was turned on - the loud music and chatter began. Luckily, we were finishing up. Value for cost: I think it was worth it - there were no upcharges for the premium cuts. I would love to share the 50 oz Angus Tomahawk steak next time around - it was highly recommended by the waiters. We are going back on the first night of our January cruise and can't wait!

How does it compare to Murano? I would say the meat was better at the FCSH, but I missed the goat cheese souffle, the cheese cart and the overall high end feel of Murano. The FCSH is more laid back, which was nice to enjoy such good food in a more relaxed atmosphere.

Baby Arugula Salad:

Bone-in Filet Mignon:

Sides:

Double Chocolate Brownie

Ultimate Chocolate Sundae

Raw on 5: 4 stars

We had appetizers of crispy crab cake and beef Negimaki, both very good, but not memorable. We enjoyed the Imperial Tower of seafood - everything was fresh and tasty - the 3 sauces they serve it with are excellent. The wine was superb with the seafood. Service was friendly. We had a good time here, but the ambiance wasn't as nice as the FCSH - it felt less intimate and a bit noisy (it could have been our table). The meals are a la carte - we didn't receive a bill because we were on a Press and Trade cruise. We might get one of the lesser towers, if we had to pay (since the Imperial is $75) - the seafood is excellent!

Beef Negimaki

Crispy Crab Cake

Magic Carpet Restaurant: 3.75 stars (a work in progress)

When the Magic Carpet is parked on 5 next to Raw on 5, it becomes a separate restaurant. They are trying different things for a menu (originally, I think they were planning to add a menu to complement Raw on 5 and offer both menus). For our dinner, we had a 6 PM reservation as I wanted to see the sun set. We immediately asked for the best table by the railing. It became clear that the breeze would not make it as pleasant an experience (ship was moving). We ended up moving inward to the inner wall and had a lovely evening out there with no wind. We still felt connected to the water and enjoyed the sunset. The menu was a bit limited - we had the shrimp tempura roll (same as Sushi on 5 that we love) and then ordered another since it was so good, Asian salad and the Chef's choice seafood plate. They have a nice bar out there with great bartenders so we had some tasty cocktails. Our waitress recognized us from the Connie and was lovely. The service was superb. We paid < $60 for everything (it is a la carte). It was a fun evening - a unique experience.

Eden Restaurant: 4 stars (food 4.5, show 3.5)

This dinner includes a show. The waiter plays the straight man (as in not in character) and gives great service, while unusual characters interact with guests and each other. The performances include swinging from things, gymnastics, modern dance and a little something I can't describe. They give you a potion at the beginning to loosen you up as you interact with some interesting characters. The menu is 5 courses, from which you can choose from 2 columns. The food was excellent - very creative and flavorful - we enjoyed the food more than we thought we would when seeing the menu. Their drink menu is eclectic and drinks must be an acquired taste. Their wines by the glass were good. We did have fun, though I was tucked around a corner and missed some of the show (it moved around) - though not our taste, it was interesting to watch. The blossoming sphere with warm chocolate was a great ending to he meal. All in all, a fun thing to do once. If they just did the dinner, we would definitely return. The aged rib eye and black grouper were like butter!

Raindrops:

Roof Top Grill: 4 stars

A fun place to eat with great food. It can be windy up there, but if the weather cooperates, it is a great place to eat lunch or dinner. We had lunch up there one day and had excellent service and food. We shared smoked chicken wings and pork sliders. They also have nice cocktails (and can get what you want from the Sunset Bar). Our waiter helped make it a fun experience, especially when he got a chuckle out of me ordering a Smokehouse margarita. It had A1 steak sauce and didn't appeal to me. He happily brought me a pink cocktail after he saw my face. We had a very pleasant experience there!

Le Petit Chef at Le Grand Bistro: 3.75 stars

We enjoyed our evening with Le Petit Chef, just not as much as I thought we might. I think it might be one of those things that is more fun to do with other people. We plan to do it again in January with friends so will see. The food was quite good, with the truffled five cheese ravioli being the best thing! You could choose from either menu, but the first one goes along with the show. Service was very good and it was a fun atmosphere.

Truffled Five Cheese Ravioli (yum!)

Le Grand Bistro: they have an amazing-looking lunch there, with daily specials. We never made it there, but hopefully will when we return in January!

Dinner on the Edge: we were initially invited to one and they changed it to a Magic Carpet dinner, which was a lovely experience - hopefully will try the DOTE on the next cruise.

I'm looking forward to seeing other reviews of the Edge specialties!

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The food seems to be very good but if there's one thing I don't like it's trying to eat outside when it's windy. It's just what I expected when I saw the plans and too bad they ruin a good experience by doing this. Unfortunately, along with the good on this ship there are a lot of misses. Someone wasn't thinking very clearly when they planned this ship.

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Hi Marylin- How many stars would you rate Luminae in comparison to the Specialty Restaurants?

I didn't have any dinners there because we were too busy eating in the specialties, but from the lunches and breakfasts, I would give a 4.5 for food and service. The food is consistently excellent. If they had more variety in the menu for dinner, I would rate it higher. They are talking about expanding their menus, which would be great.

The Edge Luminae feels even more elegant than the ones on the other ships. Kelly Hoppen hit a home run here, IMO. Still a few too many pillows for me, but a beautiful venue. 🙂

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We just got off Sunday. We ate 4 nights in Luminae and in Fine Edge, Le Petit Chef and Rooftop garden. We also did lunch on the Magic Carpet.

With the disclaimer of food-being subjective, we enjoyed the specialities much more than Luminae. Many were complaining of the limited Luminae menus and as the week went along they were being more flexible providing something else if you let them know in the morning.

We enjoyed the Rooftop food/service the most. It is compromised with always having wind since there is no enclosure around the restaurant. We ate there while docked in Cozumel and quite a few had the blankets given out wrapped around them due to the wind. They really should redesign the area for future ships.

Fine Cut, food was very good, but food/drink service was slow for us. Even the Maitre’D brought us the dessert menus quickly followed by the waiter obviously feeling things were too slow.

Le Petit Chef was a lot of fun. We selected the full animated menu. Thought food was very good except for the unattractive looking dessert. Dining took a while since they obviously didn’t tell everyone that the animation timing is dependent upon people finishing their courses somewhat on the same time. We had a table near us send back their French onion soup and waiting for another one and others savoring it like it was their last meal while the rest of the room were long done and staring around waiting for the show to continue.

Magic carpet lunch - thought the food was great, but once again not really practical with all the wind from the open front side of the carpet when at sea. They also shouldn’t serve potato chips with the sandwiches since the staff was constantly cleaning them up when the wind blew them everywhere.

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We just got off Sunday. We ate 4 nights in Luminae and in Fine Edge, Le Petit Chef and Rooftop garden. We also did lunch on the Magic Carpet.

With the disclaimer of food-being subjective, we enjoyed the specialities much more than Luminae. Many were complaining of the limited Luminae menus and as the week went along they were being more flexible providing something else if you let them know in the morning.

We enjoyed the Rooftop food/service the most. It is compromised with always having wind since there is no enclosure around the restaurant. We ate there while docked in Cozumel and quite a few had the blankets given out wrapped around them due to the wind. They really should redesign the area for future ships.

Fine Cut, food was very good, but food/drink service was slow for us. Even the Maitre’D brought us the dessert menus quickly followed by the waiter obviously feeling things were too slow.

Le Petit Chef was a lot of fun. We selected the full animated menu. Thought food was very good except for the unattractive looking dessert. Dining took a while since they obviously didn’t tell everyone that the animation timing is dependent upon people finishing their courses somewhat on the same time. We had a table near us send back their French onion soup and waiting for another one and others savoring it like it was their last meal while the rest of the room were long done and staring around waiting for the show to continue.

Magic carpet lunch - thought the food was great, but once again not really practical with all the wind from the open front side of the carpet when at sea. They also shouldn’t serve potato chips with the sandwiches since the staff was constantly cleaning them up when the wind blew them everywhere.

They did say onboard that Apex would have the MC and RTG modified to help block the wind. They said they didn't know until the sea trials (at least that's the way I interpreted it), but it's funny how people on CC wondered about the wind way back when the MC was announced. We are looking at Apex for that reason, other possible modifications and all new art and surprises. 🙂

Funny about the laggards in LPC - I hadn't thought about all of the different people and their eating times. We have someone in our family who is done before the rest of us take a bite and another who we all stare at for 15 minutes while he slowly cuts everything into tiny little pieces. Our LPC dinner went pretty smoothly - all like-minded eaters, I guess. That dessert was pretty bad and didn't taste any better than it looked, IMO - luckily we were full by then. 🙂

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They did say onboard that Apex would have the MC and RTG modified to help block the wind. They said they didn't know until the sea trials (at least that's the way I interpreted it), but it's funny how people on CC wondered about the wind way back when the MC was announced. We are looking at Apex for that reason, other possible modifications and all new art and surprises. 🙂

That’s pretty embarrassing that they forgot to factor in wind on a cruise ship. Considering the current design and cruisers complaining of lack of bars onboard the ship, perhaps they should consider making it more of a bar area rather than a full blown restaurant. Sounds less messy.

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I remember saying that those areas would be a problem long before sea trials. I don’t understand why they couldn’t see that. It really doesn’t take that much thought to figure out a lot of the poor design choices on this ship.

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I was reading a link that vtcruising posted about the different dining options available and noticed this from several months back:

Vtcruising: I talked to the Celebrity person quite a bit about the Magic Carpet. From what she﻿﻿﻿ ha﻿s﻿﻿ heard, the MC will not be a windy place to dine. She said that they have﻿ worked ve﻿ry hard to prevent that and when I mentioned napkins flying, she said the line used﻿ around there was "they would have to blow their own napkin off, to have it fly off﻿." ﻿:﻿D﻿

So apparently all those napkins and potato chips blowing around isn’t from wind, but rather guests blowing them off the table! 🤣

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I remember saying that those areas would be a problem long before sea trials. I don’t understand why they couldn’t see that. It really doesn’t take that much thought to figure out a lot of the poor design choices on this ship.

You were disqualified from joining the Edge planning team, because you have cruised before

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I was reading a link that vtcruising posted about the different dining options available and noticed this from several months back:

Vtcruising: I talked to the Celebrity person quite a bit about the Magic Carpet. From what she﻿﻿﻿ ha﻿s﻿﻿ heard, the MC will not be a windy place to dine. She said that they have﻿ worked ve﻿ry hard to prevent that and when I mentioned napkins flying, she said the line used﻿ around there was "they would have to blow their own napkin off, to have it fly off﻿." ﻿:﻿D﻿

So apparently all those napkins and potato chips blowing around isn’t from wind, but rather guests blowing them off the table! 🤣

That is so funny! I'd forgotten about that conversation. I was so innocent back then....

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That is so funny! I'd forgotten about that conversation. I was so innocent back then....

Yes so stop blowing your potato chips on the ground you messy eaters! 😜 If they put a wind guard screen on the front it would help cut back on wind but probably not to the extent that it would be comfortable for dining. Personally I think they should stick to just a mellow bar. There are so many specialty restaurant options already.

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My overall opinion is that Edge is to heavy on restaurants that I would consider "one and done." The focus seems to be dining experiences and not food. While this makes a first or maybe second cruise on Edge exciting, its not appealing to repeat customers. It wouldn't keep me from sailing but it would keep me in the complimentary dining which isn't a great business model for Celebrity. I was only on a 3 day cruise so I didn't hit all the specialty dining but here are my observations:

DOTE - We were lucky to be able to get in and have good weather and really enjoyed it. I loved the food but it is limited especially if you do not like seafood. I'm glad I went, but not sure I would go again only because its a bit of a hassle - you can't book until on board, space is limited and it could be canceled for weather. If everything aligned then yes I would do it but not count on it.

Eden and Le Petite Chef - we didn't get to either of these but they would also fall into the one and done experiences. I'd go but given the limited menu not sure they would get repeat business from me.

Rooftop Garden Grill - we ate lunch here on boarding day so we had none of the wind issues others have experienced. But there is no shade! We got there early and got the one table that had partial shade. We enjoyed the food and the view. But not the sun. I hope they get some umbrellas or sun shades because we would like to go back for lunch. We'd go for dinner if the weather cooperated but once again, you can't count on it.

Raw on 5 - we didn't eat here but assume all the DOTE seafood came from here and enjoyed it. Plus we love sushi on 5. So we look forward to trying it.

Fine Cut Steakhouse - LOVED it enough to eat there twice. This would be our go to restaurant on Edge and there are enough options to eat here multiple times. Service was just as good as the food and we enjoyed the open concept.

Le Grand Bistro - we didn't eat here because we kept doing quick lunches. The main menu seems more geared toward lunch than dinner but we'd prefer to eat light during the day. I would have liked to try dinner we happened not to be sailing on the nights where I liked the special offering. But in addition to the limited menu, nighttime seating is also limited to just the small bistro tables up front since the dining tables are reserved for Le Petite.

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Yes so stop blowing your potato chips on the ground you messy eaters! 😜 If they put a wind guard screen on the front it would help cut back on wind but probably not to the extent that it would be comfortable for dining. Personally I think they should stick to just a mellow bar. There are so many specialty restaurant options already.

All too funny..if not sad for X! Did they not realize this or ignore the obvious?

You do have a great idea..how about a nice " On the EDGE" premiium wine bar plus an upscale drink menu.....good scotch, , bourbon, brandy etc.. Fewer napkins and chips for guests to blow away. Too bad they never asked us!

Or Kite flying from the EDGE!

As for Rooftop Grill, we booked this for a port night (San Juan) hoping for Sunset Views..guess we will wear sweatshirts or windbreakers if it is a windy night.

Edited December 19, 2018 by hcat

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All too funny..if not sad for X! Did they not realize this or ignore the obvious?

You do have a great idea..how about a nice " On the EDGE" premiium wine bar plus an upscale drink menu.....good scotch, , bourbon, brandy etc.. Fewer napkins and chips for guests to blow away. Too bad they never asked us!

Or Kite flying from the EDGE!

As for Rooftop Grill, we book this for a port night (San Juan) hoping for Sunset Views..guess we will wear sweatshirts or windbreakers if it is a windy night.

I love the idea of kites! Although If it gets too windy it may turn into an unplanned parasailing event.

I get that they want to bring in more revenue...it’s the name of the game! And I think that they can still accomplish this with using it as a bar with premium wine and upscale liquor like you suggest - and also throw us a bone for regulars that want to join our fancy friends unlike at martini bar. Serve something in classic range as well would be lovely. I know of many that would pay extra for a great scotch. And for food maybe a la cart appetizers like fancy meat and cheeses to go with the premium wine?

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My overall opinion is that Edge is to heavy on restaurants that I would consider "one and done." The focus seems to be dining experiences and not food. While this makes a first or maybe second cruise on Edge exciting, its not appealing to repeat customers. It wouldn't keep me from sailing but it would keep me in the complimentary dining which isn't a great business model for Celebrity. I was only on a 3 day cruise so I didn't hit all the specialty dining but here are my observations:

DOTE - We were lucky to be able to get in and have good weather and really enjoyed it. I loved the food but it is limited especially if you do not like seafood. I'm glad I went, but not sure I would go again only because its a bit of a hassle - you can't book until on board, space is limited and it could be canceled for weather. If everything aligned then yes I would do it but not count on it.

Eden and Le Petite Chef - we didn't get to either of these but they would also fall into the one and done experiences. I'd go but given the limited menu not sure they would get repeat business from me.

Rooftop Garden Grill - we ate lunch here on boarding day so we had none of the wind issues others have experienced. But there is no shade! We got there early and got the one table that had partial shade. We enjoyed the food and the view. But not the sun. I hope they get some umbrellas or sun shades because we would like to go back for lunch. We'd go for dinner if the weather cooperated but once again, you can't count on it.

Raw on 5 - we didn't eat here but assume all the DOTE seafood came from here and enjoyed it. Plus we love sushi on 5. So we look forward to trying it.

Fine Cut Steakhouse - LOVED it enough to eat there twice. This would be our go to restaurant on Edge and there are enough options to eat here multiple times. Service was just as good as the food and we enjoyed the open concept.

Le Grand Bistro - we didn't eat here because we kept doing quick lunches. The main menu seems more geared toward lunch than dinner but we'd prefer to eat light during the day. I would have liked to try dinner we happened not to be sailing on the nights where I liked the special offering. But in addition to the limited menu, nighttime seating is also limited to just the small bistro tables up front since the dining tables are reserved for Le Petite.

I agree there are too many one and dones, but I'm wondering if they will keep the Steakhouse and Raw on 5, weatherize the MC and RTG a bit and continue LGB as a French Bistro without LPC within a couple of years (it will get old fast). My guess is that Eden will transition to a gourmet restaurant - the food is great and they have a nice set up - they will eventually ditch the show and weird drinks, I predict, as repeat cruisers stop going to the dinner/show. Just as they transitioned Bistro on 5 to Sushi on 5 and Qsine to LPC, they will likely make changes on the Edge.

It will be interesting which restaurants that they keep on the Apex based on feedback. They should have time to change the restaurant concepts, using the same footprint.

I agree with your assessment of FCSH - I love that the menu has many choices so it would take a while to get old for us.

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All too funny..if not sad for X! Did they not realize this or ignore the obvious?

You do have a great idea..how about a nice " On the EDGE" premiium wine bar plus an upscale drink menu.....good scotch, , bourbon, brandy etc.. Fewer napkins and chips for guests to blow away. Too bad they never asked us!

Or Kite flying from the EDGE!

As for Rooftop Grill, we booked this for a port night (San Juan) hoping for Sunset Views..guess we will wear sweatshirts or windbreakers if it is a windy night.

I like the idea of the kites! The Flying High Bar? Enclose the whole thing and give us some mellow music (and the scotch and bourbon) and we will be happy campers.

The kites also might help them compete with the roller coaster on Carnival. 😉

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I know this is an old thread, but someone asked about favorite Edge specialty restaurants on another thread and I linked them to this thread. I realized that I hadn't dined at Le Grand Bistro (except LPC) when I started this thread. Here is some info on Breakfast and Lunch at Le Grand Bistro (though recent cruisers have noted that LGB doesn't serve breakfast now, but has a brunch at least once a cruise and have reported the crepes being served).

We went for breakfast at Le Grand Bistro in January - wish we had done it before. Absolutely amazing! It was $10 PP. They make fresh crepes and made one for me similar to the Italian from Bistro on 5. The eggs were unbelievable. They reportedly have the crepes and some of the same items for the brunch.

Again, this is the breakfast menu - they may not be doing breakfast now, but may have some of these items for the brunch:

Lunch was incredible. It is $20PP and worth it. The window seats are lovely. There are daily lunch specials, which are excellent (at least the ones we tried). We had Veuve Clicquot for $5 glass above the Premium Package. Yum! Go hungry!!

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We dined in Eden and only did it because we got 50% off. Wasn’t impressed. Glad we got it at 50% off.

The so called show can be seen anywhere in the Eden lounge. You don’t have to have a dinner to see it.

The only entertainment we got while there was by holding up the candle for a Edenist to come to your table. They will talk to you and tell about themselves. Nothing extraordinary. They stay in character as they don’t know anything about anything that is modern as they are supposed to be from the Garden of Eden. Don’t know how they can talk English. They probably wouldn’t acknowledge that they are on a ship.

The atmosphere is like dining in a cafe. You are seated very close to other diners

The menu consists of a lot of seafood. The chocolate ball blossoming flower was different and very chocolately.

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We really enjoyed the Edge and would like to cruise again but pricing is a bit steep. Feel the specialty restaurants are over priced unless you get a deal.

Fine Cut Steak House: 5 stars

We really enjoyed, especially notable Tuna Tartare and Aussie Tomahawk. Everything was good

Le Petit Chef at Le Grand Bistro: 3 stars

Was a one timer. Liked the Green Tea Matcha Cake

Eden: 1 star

Was expecting a lot but ended up being disappointed. Liked Eden Cafe better at lunch.

Rooftop Garden Grill: 4 stars

We ate here on a port night in San Juan so wind wasn't too much of issue but still had some breezes that blew napkins. Was much better than expected and would go again.

Dinner on Edge: 5 stars

Luckily the wind wasn't a problem as was very calm leaving Tortola and had a beautiful sunset. Service was good and food was much better than expected. When we got there thought we were supposed to choose one of each but they brought everything.

Starters

Charcuterie Board

Seafood Platter

Chili Braised Short Rib Pastels

Entrees

Grilled Lobster Tails

Slow Roasted Chateaubriand

South Florida Gulf Snapper

For The Table

Tostones

Sauteed Baby Potatoes

Warm Asparagus

Dessert

Locally Inspired Dessert Trio

Le Grand Bistro: 4 1/2 stars

We had lunch one day and brunch on another. Everything was good and large selection for brunch.

Luminae: 3stars

Have always rated Luminae 5 stars on other ships. Although we loved the decor we found it to be much noisier than other ships as room is huge. Was noisier than main dinning rooms and Blu. Service was great except sommelier was subpar compared to previous experiences. Food not as good as previous Luminae experiences.

Blu: 5 stars

Excellent food as well as service and great sommelier.

We ended up eating here a couple of nights as we found it more enjoyable and more choices.

Hope to cruise Edge class in future depending on pricing.

Art

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They also have a To Go at Le Grand Bistro, where you can purchase baguette sandwiches - the prices were $6-8 when I took the picture below (they are huge). They also have the best croissants on the ship, IMO - free with a meal, but may or may not have a cost if not eating there (I have heard different things).

LPC is a real standout. This should not be compared to a regular meal. It's an experience and a good one. We've been on 30 cruises - most fun/memorable dinner we've had at sea. Don't even know what would be second.